On Friday, March 23, ten Talan’s Trust runners met to run the ‘Tal Half Bath’, as it became known.
After the Bath half marathon was unfortunately cancelled due to snow, the committed runners and event organiser, Sarah Penny, met to discuss how to proceed, and they all felt that they should run the distance in Bude.
Due to other commitments, a weekend was not possible for many weeks, so March 23 was decided upon. The team thought this would mean slightly less support, but had little choice. However, in true Bude style, people turned out on a chilly, rainy evening to not only cheer them on, but a mad bunch came to run with them too!
Whilst this was not a competition, good times were had by all. The first woman back, as widely predicted, was the invincible Hannah Astley, who also won the #TAL19 run last November, whilst the first man back — who incidentally said to Sarah, ‘I’m not going to push myself, I think I’ll just take it nice and easy’ — was Sarah’s neighbour and Talan Penny’s friend, Richard Harris.
The Talan’s Trust runners picked by ballot to run the Bath half marathon were Hannah Astley, Emma Bartrop, Lucy Zoeftig, Anna Tanner, Tom Vigg (who was unable to come on the day), Kit Davies, Richard Harris, Graham Keat, Rob Cornish, Rollo McGrath and Mike Tunney ran for the Trust dressed as a woman, telling colleagues if he raised £150 he would run as ‘Michaela’!
Alex James, Jez Brown, Harvey Richmond, Sophie Shute, Jess Lynes, Mark Hutcheson, Phil Aldis, Bob Curtis, Paul Diffey and Vicky Jones came and ran in fine form.
There are still some sponsorships to come in, so there is not yet a complete amount raised. However, as a bronze charity this year, the runners are asked to commit to raising £175 and, on average so far, have raised £400 each!
Sarah, organiser of the event, chair of Talan’s Trust and Talan Penny’s mother, said: “I cannot thank everyone enough for their continued support. It keeps my family and myself striving towards our goal.”
Talan’s Trust is a new charity and was set up in memory of Talan Penny, who died in May 2017. Talan died of a rare childhood cancer. Childhood cancer, however, is not rare and is woefully underfunded. The Trust’s mission is to raise awareness and money to help fund research into rhabdomyosarcoma and other cancers in children.
For more information, please see the Facebook page Talan’s Trust. The charity’s new website will be live at the end of the summer. The Trust is committed to supporting the Chris Lucas Trust, set up by Chris Lucas’ parents to fund two full-time researchers at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London.
On May 19, at Adventure International in Bude, Talan’s Trust will be donning fancy dress for an 80s night of disco dancing. Tickets are available at Rosie’s Kitchen at Crooklets, Adventure International and Alchemist Jewellery, Belle Vue.
This year, Talan would have been 21 on November 21, so on Sunday, November 18, for one year only, Talan’s Trust will host the #TAL21! Start training!